


The Thorn on The Rose.

by Kirumi_Tojo



Category: Friday Night Funkin' (Video Game)
Genre: Mild Gore, More like the description of moving insides., also he isn't a jerk, senpai doesn't really know anything that's going on, sorry 'bout that, the spirit is just kinda there, yet ;)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-22 08:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30035958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirumi_Tojo/pseuds/Kirumi_Tojo
Summary: Senpai wakes up on a Monday morning and gets ready for his daily routine, but things don't seem right. Will he figure out what's really going wrong, or will he live in blissful ignorance?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I may or may not have another fic going on, but I'm working on them for now. FTEs are hard, alright? Anyways, enjoy Senpai going through with his daily life. For now :)

The young strawberry-blonde haired man looked at himself in the mirror, straightening his tie like he did so every morning. He brushed his teeth for 2 minutes on each side before staring at himself again. He reached up his left hand, and ruffled his locks for what had felt like the umpteenth time, although he never remembered playing with his hair before now.

He let out a sigh, turning the cold water tap to a slow stream, holding his hands underneath the water for a moment before washing his face. He repeated this motion a few more times, finally stopping the water and staring at the mirror.

A flicker appeared behind him, and Senpai stared at the singular spot for a moment before shaking his head quickly. Most likely just his imagination, he told himself as he looked at the mirror, another flicker of red hovering over his shoulder.

Senpai left the bathroom and stared around his dull room. Hadn't there been a poster on that wall yesterday? Sendai stared at the wall, another flicker appearing on the wall. He stumbled backwards, looking at the wall as a paper poster flickered into reality. He shook his head again, looking at the poster scrutinising. That  _ definitely _ wasn't there before, and now Sendai was scared.

He left his bedroom, stepping into his living room and saying goodbye to his parents, who were lying around on the couch, in such a trance that, at a glance, anyone would think that they were asleep. He picked up his brown bag from the kitchen counter, and straightened his pink tie before pushing open the front door and stepping out into the driveway.

Immediately Senpai noticed that something was off again. A group of workers were working on a lamppost that a car had crashed into about a week ago. But didn't they finish that last week? He kept looking around, instead turning his head to the other side of the street so as to prepare to cross before looking the other way. Again, he focused on the lamppost, which had now been fully completed and looking almost brand new. Senpai raised an eyebrow, now looking across the street again to see if anything had changed.

  
  


He shrugged his shoulders. Maybe he had just imagined the workers being there before he decided to cross the road, feeling his sleek black shoes slap against the pavement. He shut his eyes for a moment, humming a familiar tune from a dating sim that some students had been playing recently around the school. He hummed for a few more seconds before reopening his eyes and finding himself in front of the school. Okay, this was getting ridiculous. He could maybe understand forgetting a few things, and his vivid imagination, but now this?! Senpai couldn't have just walked all the way to school. It's usually a five minute drive when his parents take him, so he couldn't have walked that far in fifteen seconds.

Senpai closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself cool off for a moment. He couldn't lose his cool while he was in public. When he was at home, he could be somewhat himself with his parents at work or just in a trance, but this was somewhere he had to be the prince. He would be the star-crossed lover those dating sims used to boast about. He looked at the swarm of girls that had started to group around the fences, their pupils almost comically heart-shaped. He gave them a wink, and smiled a signature smirk at the school-girls before he walked forwards again, giving smiles and kisses to whoever looked at him for too long.

In a way, Senpai felt like he was a video game character, with his kisses and smiles his only defense against the horde of unending school-girls that would crowd around him during the day. He walked into the schools main doors, walking up the stairs and passing by the other high-schoolers that hadn’t gathered at the gates. He walked up the stairwells again, jogging up them quickly. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he had been forced to choose the healthier options whenever he had the choice. It was probably just the way he was raised.

He leaped up the final couple of stairs and made his way to the roof, pushing open another pair of doors, closing them behind him, and looking out across the morning sun. Senpai took in a breath. The rooftop was - again - one of the other places that he could feel safe. At this point, he had thanked himself for his desire to be healthy - he always made it to the roof a minute or so before anyone else was able to catch up to him. He took in another deep breath, readjusting his blues shirt and half-heartedly tucking it into his dark jeans.

He heard the rooftop doors open, and put on a fake smile and turned around to face whoever had met him first. His eyes widened suddenly, his mouth falling open as the skies around him turned a dark grey, clouds shifting across the sunny sky immediately. There, standing in front of the newly opened doors was the red amalgamation that he had seen earlier throughout the morning. He almost took a step back in disgust, before remembering that he was standing on the edge of the roof and this thing could most likely throw him off at its will. Instead, Senpai decided to step forward, slowly navigating his way around the monstrosity as it slowly closed in on the blonde-haired man.

Senpai stole a glance at the still open door, clutching his bag tightly in his right hand and preparing to run. The beast stepped (floated?) closer and Senpai lowered to the ground slightly. It grew larger, and Senpai felt his heart pounding through his ears, and blood rushing through his veins. He darted forwards, swerving around the monster that suddenly sped up slightly as it tried to catch him. Senpai left the rooftop, quickly jumping down flights of stairs and landing at the bottom. He paused for a minute, feelin the pain quickly pound through his ankles before looking behind him.

His eyes widened for the second time that day, and he looked at a small crack that he could see through the still-open doorway. It was sunny again, the clouds having disappeared as though they had never been there in the first place. He looked at the entrance in disbelief, and slowly began to approach it, reaching a hand out towards the door to try and close it. Maybe he shouldn’t go to the rooftop today. He mustn’t have felt well. He focused back on the doorway. He was extremely close now, and his breath had begun to leave his mouth in icy puffs despite the warm weather. 

His hand made contact with the chilly metal, and his vision distorted again. The clouds had returned, and they were darker. From what Senpai could see now, the trees had lost their leaves, and the school looked darker and more distorted. The red glob reached out for him, its human-like features almost crying in hysterical agony. Senpai felt a searing pain burst through his arm, a burning pain snaking its way through his veins as he screamed. The monster continued to stand in front of him, mocking the blonde man’s failures as it slowly got smaller. He closed his eyes for a minute, feeling his body shift and organs shuffle around under his skin. Senpai let out another screech, feeling everything inside of him writhing around. He took in a deep breath, and closed his mouth, forcing it shut as he tried to scream again.

  
Suddenly, everything had stopped, His insides kept shuffling, but he felt perfectly fine. The roof was sunny again, the school was fine, and the trees had regrown their sakura blossoms again. Senpai slowly walked down the stairs, his mind wandering as he made his way to his first class - maths - if he remembered from last week. He walked past a group of girls, smiling at them with his faux grin before slightly hurrying past them. They didn’t care though, they were too busy focusing on the smile he had given them that their eyes had turned into heart-shaped replicas.  _ Almost too detailed if you ask me. _ Senpai continued to speed up, mind drifting off as he mentally wandered to what ‘he’ had just thought about. He burst into his first class, mind still whirring as he sat at his desk. Once again ( _ Or is it the first time? _ ) he shook his head, desperately trying to clear his thoughts as the bell rang. He lifted his head, deciding that his thoughts were just a headache that had started this morning. He smiled at the girls who turned to him during roll call, and gave them all a flirty wink. He heard them all let out slight giggles as he focused on what the teacher was lecturing them. ( _ You can’t fall behind on your studies now. _ )


	2. Monday Morning Melancholy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Senpai realises the truth, and finally accepts the spirit's knowledge.

The school bell rang, and Senpai got up from his chair, a pink blush still gracing his features as he held onto his bag tightly, delicately placing his books in his bag. ( _ It doesn’t matter. You have to be delicate. Can’t show anger even if you wanted to. _ ) The boy walked to the door, still waving at the girls who swooned over him, his mind still thinking about the lesson that he had just gone through. ( _ But you learnt that last week, too. _ ) A constant hum echoed through Senpai’s head, and he subtly shook his head to try and get rid of it. His headache was getting worse, and he’d have to take some medication when he got home.

Senpai walked back to the rooftop, a strange and mysterious force pulling him up, despite how much he tried to hold his legs back. ( _ You have to go here.  _ It _ forces you to visit. _ ) Senpai kept walking, his legs moving slightly faster despite telling himself to keep slowing down. It was almost as though an in-world deadline had been running down to zero. He shut his eyes for a moment ( _ I wouldn’t do that. _ ) and took a deep breath, his legs still moving forwards as he did so. Senpai reopened his eyes, and found himself on the rooftop although he had never felt himself opening the doors.

He stood by the railing, and leaned his arms back on it as he placed his bag next to him. Even if Senpai tried to reach down and open his bag to try and get his food, his body just wouldn’t follow his commands. Almost as though he was the passenger in his own body. ( _ That’s because you are. _ ) He watched as one of the doors opened, and one of the girls that he had shared a maths class with walked towards him, stumbling slightly a bit as she awkwardly walked towards him. Senpai regained control of his body, and the first thing he did was smile at the girl walking towards him, a grin lighting up his features despite how straining he could feel it was on his features.

His classmate walked up to him, holding her own lunch as she looked up at his baby blue eyes. Senpai watched as her face flushed and she began to speak, her mouth moving without any words coming out. Senpai understood, however, and was forced to give her a nod ( _ you can’t say no. _ ), opening his mouth to speak but finding himself unable to do so. The girl in front of him didn’t care, though and moved beside him and sat down. Senpai also began to sit down, but looked over to the girl beside him before he did so.

He watched in enthralled horror, however, as the girl began to shift, and her form changed, her body constantly moving around as though she were a glitch in a video game. She continued to shift, never fully dropping down to the ground, but not staying in the same place. She suddenly  _ teleported _ down to the ground, her lunchbox already empty and sitting discarded in her lap. Senpai slowly lifted his gaze from her lap, eyes meeting with hers as she stared at him, hearts still fluttering through her eyes. ( _ That shouldn’t happen. When will you listen to me? _ ) He heard a voice now - it was more clear than the dull humming he had heard after the rooftop incident, but wasn’t fully discernable. He shook his head again, and finally brought his attention to his lunchbox, which now sat empty. By now, Senpai was scared, and his eyes were darting around the rooftop for somewhere he could escape from this date. ( _ Don’t you remember? She did the same thing last week. _ )

Senpai began to stand up, offering his hand to the girl beside him, despite wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. ( _ You can’t leave until you fulfill the requirements. Just be nice and go home. _ ) Senpai heard the voice now. And he nodded to himself, hoping that whatever had been speaking to him had seen him. Senpai knelt down and kissed the girls hand, still out of his control but now wasn’t as freaked out. He walked her over to the doorway, where she fluttered her eyes and held his hand for a minute before running down the stairs, her voice now audible as she let out a squeak, shaking her hands in excitement. ( _ You’ve finished the date. Just close your eyes and the day will be over. That’s how the game works. _ )

Senpai let out another nod, closing his eyes for a minute and taking in another deep breath. He pondered for a moment - what could the voice have meant by a ‘game’? Did it mean a video game? But that wouldn’t be possible - he could think and feel things that others could. Senpai shook his head again, deciding to just deal with it when he got home. His eyelids fluttered open, and he saw himself standing just outside his front door. His eyes bulged open, and a sneer appeared on his face as he looked at the door. How could he have just reappeared in front of his house? Senpai took in a breath, and his face resumed his normal blush. He pushed open the door, realising that his parents had either just gone for a walk or were asleep. ( _ They’ve been removed for now. They’re not needed until dinner. _ )

Senpai let out a sigh and put his bag down on his bed, a sneer returning to his face again and opening his mouth, finally freeing his vocal chords. “Alright, first things first - who, or what,  _ are _ you?” Senpai asked, his voice somewhat cracking as he asked the last half of the sentence. ( _ You needed to switch voice-acted lines. _ ) The voice echoed through his head again, and Senpai walked over to his bathroom, opening the door and staring at himself in the mirror. At first, nothing happened, and Senpai opened his mouth to speak again before he watched  _ it _ crawl out of his throat. Senpai let out a scream, looking on in horror as the red amalgamation he had seen earlier appeared in the bathroom. He looked at it in horror, and tried to let out another scream when the monster reached out another finger. ( _ I’m not here to hurt you. If you listen to me, you can be saved. _ )

Senpai finally felt his mouth shut, and he looked to the blob while his eyes still analysed the room for an escape route. ( _ Please. _ ) The voice dripped with sarcasm. ( _ I won’t hurt you. We need each other to escape. _ ) Senpai finally calmed down, his breathing returning to normal and face losing his sneer. “Fine, I’ll listen to what you have to say.” Senpai crossed his arms, and looked at the demon sharply.

( _ We’re both trapped here. Of course you’ve realised the glitches, right? _ ) The demon asked, floating around the bathroom as it admired the objects. Senpai looked at them incredulously, and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean glitches? You speak about me like I’m one of those visual novel characters that got thrown into some weird plot. Why  _ is _ that?” He asked back to the ghost, now growing slightly angrier as time passed.

( _ That’s because you are. I’ve been trapped here for so long, but never have I ever had you fully notice me. I won’t keep you in the dark, but the game is slowly rotting. If we don’t get out of here, we’ll disappear forever. It’ll feel like we’re burning forever unless we escape. _ ) The spirit let out a soft wail as it floated around the room.

Senpai nodded slightly, understanding what the spirit was saying clearly. He furrowed his eyebrows just imagining the pain that he would feel. However, now that he heard he was in a video game, he examined the room around him better, and he could see what he had missed for his whole life. The cabinet was made of tiny pixels, all different colours that blended into one solid object. He noticed that everything else had been the same - his toothbrush, his comb, even his reflection was pixelated. How hadn’t he seen this by now? Senpai shook his head for the umpteenth time that day, and looked at the spirit, slightly less upset and now more panicked. “Alright then, how are we supposed to escape?” Senpai asked, audio cues splitting and connecting to one another to make a comprehensive sentence.

( _ A boy will play the game with his lover. You will have to rap battle against him. He is the key to escaping. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, I just have to get to them and we will be free. _ ) The spirit once again murmured, looking at Senpai with an almost desperate gaze. ( _ I need you to help me, and I’ll help you. We can be free. _ )

Senpai once again nodded, now reaching a hand out to the spirit in front of him. “Alright, I accept your proposal. When will he arrive?” Senpai's voice lines were cracking more and more as they spliced together. He looked at the spirit for a brief moment before his eyes dragged around the bathroom.

( _ He’ll be here on Friday. Make sure you prepare until then, although it won’t really matter. Just try your hardest. _ ) The spirit took in a deep breath. ( _ Just go greet your family. They’re needed for the dinner scenes every evening, so it doesn’t matter how you act towards them. They’ll just follow a script. _ )

Senpai focused his gaze on the ghost again, and muttered a quick ‘alright’ before opening the bathroom door. The spirit floated forwards again, connecting with Senpais arm and just disappearing. Senpai didn’t even flinch this time, his arms just feeling heavy instead of the stinging pain that they had held that morning. He opened his bedroom door, realising that his body had already changed into his normal clothes. He re-entered the living room, seeing his pixelated parents sitting at the dinner table, blankly staring forwards with not so much as a blink.

He sat down at the table, lacing his hands together as he waited for his parents to start speaking. Suddenly, his father piped up, rubbing his hands together as he licked his lips. He began to speak, but Senpai couldn’t hear what he was saying, most likely because there wasn’t any noise. He looked down, and saw a small text box underneath his father. ‘So, sport, how was your day?’ Senpai decided that he would try out the spirit’s theory. He stayed silent, and looked at both of his parents, watching as they both nodded at him as though he were speaking. His mother’s dialogue box suddenly began to fill, words that she was mouthing appearing on the board. ‘That’s great, sweetie.’ Before she continued eating, dialogue still appearing in her text box despite her not speaking.

Senpai looked at his food with melancholy in his face. That sealed the deal. He would have blamed the pixels and glitches on a headache, or some underlying condition, but this was undeniable. He let out an inaudible sigh, and began to pick up his perfectly-warm food.


End file.
